Gunman in Walmart shooting told workers at nightly meeting to line up against wall, Indiana police say
A former Walmart employee wounded one of his ex-co-workers Thursday night in a shooting at the Evansville, Indiana, store where he used to work, police said. The 25-year-old man entered a nightly team meeting with a gun and told a group of about a dozen people to line up against a wall, officials announced during a press conference Friday.
The overnight team leader ran from the room when the gunman, identified by police as Ronald Ray Mosley, had his back turned, and she called 911, Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin told reporters.
The gunman then shot a woman, Bolin said, and then ran from the room.
The team leader saw the gunman leave the break room where the meeting was being held, and she returned to help the wounded woman, Bolin said.
She helped the victim into another room, locked the door, turned off the lights, and they hid, the chief said. The gunman then returned to the break room.
"I have no doubt that he was going back to finish what he started, and we would probably have a dead victim today instead of one that's alive," Bolin said.
During Friday's press conference, officials showed blurred body camera footage of officers confronting the gunman inside the store, and the shootout that resulted in his death.
"There was multiple times that he was actually shooting at officers before they actually were able to shoot him," police spokeswoman Sgt. Anna Gray told reporters during a briefing Thursday night.
The chief said a suicide note was later found at the gunman's home.
"He absolutely planned to die last night," Bolin said, "and it's really sad when you hear that somebody is in that state, and at the same time, it makes you angry."
About 40 customers were in the store at the time of the shooting, Gray said. About 40 Walmart employees were also working at the store, she said. No other injuries were reported.
Vanderburgh County Prosecuting Attorney Diana Moers said the gunman was in court Thursday afternoon. He had to check in with authorities about every two weeks because he was receiving treatment through a mental health court and had pleaded guilty to four counts of battery last year in an incident involving his co-workers, Moers said.
The prosecutor said she couldn't say what illness the gunman was receiving treatment for.
Walmart issued a statement saying, "The entire Walmart family is shocked by the senseless violence that occurred at our Evansville store, and our hearts are with our associate at this time. As we learn more, we'll do everything we can to support our associates as they cope with this tragedy."
On Nov. 23, a manager at a Walmart store in Chesapeake, Virginia, opened fire inside the store, killing six people before turning the gun on himself.